Evolution of a form of pure alexia without agraphia in a child sustaining occipital lobe infarction at 2 1/4 years

Abstract

The progress of cognitive visual dysfunction over an 8-year period of a child who sustained bilateral occipital-lobe infarctions at the age of 2 1/4 years is described. She survived with normal intelligence and went on to attend mainstream school. She manifested many features of cognitive visual impairment and, in particular, developed a form of pure alexia without agraphia. She achieved some letter-by-letter reading but no sight vocabulary development, including to her own name. She learned to write imaginatively employing phonetically true spelling but cannot read what she has written. Her progress and the difficulties encountered during the management of her condition are discussed in this first case report of the evolution of pure alexia without agraphia in childhood. The features of this syndrome in the developing child who has never developed the capacity to read are contrasted with that seen in affected adults.